US appeals court OKs San Diego Boy Scout leases

San Diego 
A federal appeals court says San Diego can continue leasing public land to the Boy Scouts even though the group requires members to believe in God and bans gays and atheists.

A panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday reversed a 2003 lower court ruling that said the leases violate state and federal constitutional bans on promoting religion.

San Diego leases property to the scouts for $1 a year so they can use it for camping and other recreational activities.

A lawsuit filed in 2000 on behalf of a lesbian couple and an agnostic couple argued that their sons were effectively banned from using the city land because of the scouting ban on gay, agnostic or atheistic members.